Nike is leaving the golf equipment game, as Tiger returns to the game. I love it.

Go Tiger! Media acts as if 40 years old is old. Plenty of guys in their mid to late 40's still winning on tour. Hell even a few of the seniors (Kelly, Singh) are competitive well into their 50's.

Tiger will be fine. People forget that just two years ago he had several wins on tour. I'm interested to see which manufacturer he switches to - perhaps PXG or Titleist? Also, will he still attempt the power 5 wood out of 4" rough, 270 yards out? Preserve the back, Tiger!

As an aside... this is really going to throw a wrench into my fantasy leagues next season.

"The problem with the internet is, that one can never trust the authenticity of a source." - Abraham Lincoln

Regardless of what you think of Tiger as a human being, he's good for the game of golf.

So personally I'm rooting for him to come back and at least stay healthy and maybe be in contention to win some tournaments. Honestly I don't expect him to regain even half of his major winning form. But if he can just stay healthy? I think he could jump up from time to time and maybe win a couple more tournaments.

Preface this with: I don't watch golf that much anymore. So more of an inquiry than a snarky comment, but Why is it "good for the game?"

Don't understand that. 10 years ago Tiger was good for the game. Tiger was the game. he'll never be that again.

Personal issues aside, Tiger has been surpassed by a bevy of young, talented and exciting golfers. Not sure how Tiger even fits in. Even if he stays healthy and starts hitting it well, he's never going to be the Tiger from his late 20s. Healthy, he won't be any better for the game than Mickelson.

Don't understand that. 10 years ago Tiger was good for the game. Tiger was the game. he'll never be that again.

Personal issues aside, Tiger has been surpassed by a bevy of young, talented and exciting golfers. Not sure how Tiger even fits in. Even if he stays healthy and starts hitting it well, he's never going to be the Tiger from his late 20s. Healthy, he won't be any better for the game than Mickelson.

Because he makes any tournament he's in more interesting...........just like others that are past their prime. Mickelson, Daly (before he hit the old fart circuit), Couples, etc. The most exciting British Open of the past 10 years was 2012 when Watson was in the final group.

Golf's in a great place right now with lots of really good young golfers. But you can't tell me if Tiger's on the leaderboard on Sunday that doesn't make watching more fun. Everyone loves a comeback.

kearly wrote:Tiger hasn't done anything in eight years now. I'm glad he's coming back but it probably won't even last that long before he leaves golf again. Kind of has a feel of Griffey returning to the Mariners.

He hasn't won a major in that time, but to say he has done nothing is ridiculous. He won 5 times and was player of the year just 3 years ago.

kearly wrote:Tiger hasn't done anything in eight years now. I'm glad he's coming back but it probably won't even last that long before he leaves golf again. Kind of has a feel of Griffey returning to the Mariners.

He hasn't won a major in that time, but to say he has done nothing is ridiculous. He won 5 times and was player of the year just 3 years ago.

I was going to say just that - in 2013 he had 5 wins in just 16 events... even as recent as 2014 he was very competitive. No he hasn't won a major in awhile but it is not too far fetched to think a healthy Tiger could easily win at Augusta in 2017.

"The problem with the internet is, that one can never trust the authenticity of a source." - Abraham Lincoln

Uncle Si wrote:Preface this with: I don't watch golf that much anymore. So more of an inquiry than a snarky comment, but Why is it "good for the game?"

Don't understand that. 10 years ago Tiger was good for the game. Tiger was the game. he'll never be that again.

Personal issues aside, Tiger has been surpassed by a bevy of young, talented and exciting golfers. Not sure how Tiger even fits in. Even if he stays healthy and starts hitting it well, he's never going to be the Tiger from his late 20s. Healthy, he won't be any better for the game than Mickelson.

We don't know for sure yet that he has been surpassed when healthy. I think his head is done, shot, but there's no way to say that with any certainty. To say he isn't better for the game than Mickelson is absolutely absurd. There will be moments when Tiger gets hot. And when Tiger gets hot, there isn't anything like it. He probably won't get hot nearly as frequently s before, but there will be moments. Tiger made playing golf look really cool. Phil made playing golf look really, really dorky. Put Tiger in contention once, just once, and tell me it is the same as when Phil is in contention.

It is good for the game to watch a player who at his prime was the best golfer of all time, and cool, have moments. How would it possibly not be good for the game? Ratings are way down. Golf rounds and equipment sales are way down. All the manufacturers are losing money. One major championship victory can and will have a ridiculous impact on all of that.

Uncle Si wrote:Preface this with: I don't watch golf that much anymore. So more of an inquiry than a snarky comment, but Why is it "good for the game?"

Don't understand that. 10 years ago Tiger was good for the game. Tiger was the game. he'll never be that again.

Personal issues aside, Tiger has been surpassed by a bevy of young, talented and exciting golfers. Not sure how Tiger even fits in. Even if he stays healthy and starts hitting it well, he's never going to be the Tiger from his late 20s. Healthy, he won't be any better for the game than Mickelson.

We don't know for sure yet that he has been surpassed when healthy. I think his head is done, shot, but there's no way to say that with any certainty. To say he isn't better for the game than Mickelson is absolutely absurd. There will be moments when Tiger gets hot. And when Tiger gets hot, there isn't anything like it. He probably won't get hot nearly as frequently s before, but there will be moments. Tiger made playing golf look really cool. Phil made playing golf look really, really dorky. Put Tiger in contention once, just once, and tell me it is the same as when Phil is in contention.

It is good for the game to watch a player who at his prime was the best golfer of all time, and cool, have moments. How would it possibly not be good for the game? Ratings are way down. Golf rounds and equipment sales are way down. All the manufacturers are losing money. One major championship victory can and will have a ridiculous impact on all of that.

Great post Tical

Last edited by IndyHawk on Sun Sep 11, 2016 6:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Uncle Si wrote:Preface this with: I don't watch golf that much anymore. So more of an inquiry than a snarky comment, but Why is it "good for the game?"

Don't understand that. 10 years ago Tiger was good for the game. Tiger was the game. he'll never be that again.

Personal issues aside, Tiger has been surpassed by a bevy of young, talented and exciting golfers. Not sure how Tiger even fits in. Even if he stays healthy and starts hitting it well, he's never going to be the Tiger from his late 20s. Healthy, he won't be any better for the game than Mickelson.

We don't know for sure yet that he has been surpassed when healthy. I think his head is done, shot, but there's no way to say that with any certainty. To say he isn't better for the game than Mickelson is absolutely absurd. There will be moments when Tiger gets hot. And when Tiger gets hot, there isn't anything like it. He probably won't get hot nearly as frequently s before, but there will be moments. Tiger made playing golf look really cool. Phil made playing golf look really, really dorky. Put Tiger in contention once, just once, and tell me it is the same as when Phil is in contention.

It is good for the game to watch a player who at his prime was the best golfer of all time, and cool, have moments. How would it possibly not be good for the game? Ratings are way down. Golf rounds and equipment sales are way down. All the manufacturers are losing money. One major championship victory can and will have a ridiculous impact on all of that.

I'd have to think that its a hell of an uphill battle for him. The current talent pool are very good. On top of that he does not have that psychological advantage he had over the field he once had. He's lost some of his mystique. The field is not going to crumble on Sunday afternoon when he's chasing.

rastahawk wrote:I'd have to think that its a hell of an uphill battle for him. The current talent pool are very good. On top of that he does not have that psychological advantage he had over the field he once had. He's lost some of his mystique. The field is not going to crumble on Sunday afternoon when he's chasing.

I would agree with you at first thought, but major after major we have pretty much seen just about all of the leader board fall apart on Sunday. They are all obscenely talented, but just about all of them wilt in majors. Spieth at Augusta, DJ, Rory, even Day. Dunno if there is a clutch gene in any of them. And that is without a Tiger roar. Actually, Tiger almost never came from behind to win anyways. He went low Thursday and Friday and leaned on the field during the weekend. These guys grew up in awe of that roar and pressure. We have no idea how they will hold up under it. If it ever happens again.

rastahawk wrote:I'd have to think that its a hell of an uphill battle for him. The current talent pool are very good. On top of that he does not have that psychological advantage he had over the field he once had. He's lost some of his mystique. The field is not going to crumble on Sunday afternoon when he's chasing.

I would agree with you at first thought, but major after major we have pretty much seen just about all of the leader board fall apart on Sunday. They are all obscenely talented, but just about all of them wilt in majors. Spieth at Augusta, DJ, Rory, even Day. Dunno if there is a clutch gene in any of them. And that is without a Tiger roar. Actually, Tiger almost never came from behind to win anyways. He went low Thursday and Friday and leaned on the field during the weekend. These guys grew up in awe of that roar and pressure. We have no idea how they will hold up under it. If it ever happens again.

Yeah that is very true about the majors.Watching Spieth collapse in the Masters was painful. It was also good to finally see DJ finally break through and win a major. If there's one thing I do remember about Tiger is that he does not have a lot of self doubt.

Sgt. Largent wrote:Regardless of what you think of Tiger as a human being, he's good for the game of golf.

So personally I'm rooting for him to come back and at least stay healthy and maybe be in contention to win some tournaments. Honestly I don't expect him to regain even half of his major winning form. But if he can just stay healthy? I think he could jump up from time to time and maybe win a couple more tournaments.

I don't agree with what he did, but the guy should be given a break now.

Even criminals get paroled right? I am glad he is back, and I will be rooting for him, and I never did before. I like a good story about redemption, and forgiveness.

I would love to see him go Ping because I'm a Ping freak, but I would think he would go back to Titleist, or maybe Taylor Made.

I don't like the things Tiger did outside of golf but life handed him humble pie if you will.On the tour he is the 2nd best golfer ever to play next to Jack so I love watching him while he is still around.I think he will suprise a lot of people on this comeback with over a year of rehab,practice and better equipment than those godawful Nike clubs.I think he will motivated to prove he is still Tiger and these other guys are not his level.The wins may not be as frequent but if he stays healthy I don't think anyone out there will be his equal,I can remember when he was young a lot of older pros like Palmer were saying when he gets older he will be more dangerous because he won't be trying to win long drives or being too aggresive when not needed.His skills with the irons will come into play more.I'm sure it will be interesting to see if this comes true.

Golf is a funny sport. Particularly the way Tiger has been viewed since his dropoff. He went through a lot, mentally, emotionally, physically. His life was an absolute mess. Trying to play through that, and coming back a few times before he was fully ready and he was still winning tournaments. For Tiger, the fact that he wasn't winning Majors meant there was "something wrong with Tiger". For most golfers on the tour, they'd be ecstatic to play in all 4 majors and win 3 or 4 tournaments during the same year. Tiger was looked at as a failure for those same results - all while not being 100% mentally, physically or emotionally ready.

I'm certainly no Tiger Apologist when it comes to his personal exploits, but I've never looked up to athletes as role models. A lot of them are pretty awful people.

I would love to see Tiger come back 100% prepared. Granted, he isn't in his 20s anymore, but regardless if he is mentally 100% engaged, with the old-Tiger intensity, this new era of golfers are in for a surprise. Many of them have faced the broken-down version of Tiger but they've never experienced being on the course while he was working his magic. I've never loved watching golf more than when Tiger would start working his way up the leaderboard on a Saturday, pulling into a tie for 7th place or something and then just going bonkers on Sunday to win the whole thing.

Doug Baldwin took a hit to the head when he was younger and now can't remember how to drop a football. - SomersetHawk

Yes I read that and while it sucks to wait I'd rather see a well conditioned Tiger who has a chance to win than one who isn't and plays like shit.I figure he has also dropped his Nike clubs/putter and is trying to find the best clubs but that just my opinion.They say practice makes perfect so that should pay off than how he came back before(shanking ect)

Most of his close friends have commented that he (physically) looks fine. He is flushing all clubs, etc etc.

I have a feeling this is the mental side of golf, where a former #1 does not feel comfortable returning in fear of missing cut after cut. Well there's that, plus the yips he experienced in the short game. That only gets cured by playing.

"The problem with the internet is, that one can never trust the authenticity of a source." - Abraham Lincoln

Hawker wrote:Most of his close friends have commented that he (physically) looks fine. He is flushing all clubs, etc etc.

I have a feeling this is the mental side of golf, where a former #1 does not feel comfortable returning in fear of missing cut after cut. Well there's that, plus the yips he experienced in the short game. That only gets cured by playing.

IMO Tiger is mentally broken, he can't go out and play if he doesn't think he'll be striping every fairway and competing to win every tournament.

You're right, if he's healthy then the ONLY way he's going to have a chance to make a comeback is to just play ever week............if that means missing 12 of 14 cuts over the next six months, then that's what it takes. But Tiger's ego and pride can't handle that.

So IDK what he's going to do, can't just keep hiding away in his swing labs, gyms and private courses hoping he gets his mind right.